On April 14, 2018, dozens of local families gathered at the Irish Cultural Center for a concert to celebrate nineteen years of offering the award-winning early childhood music program to families in Phoenix. The concert, which featured Music Together recording artist “Uncle Gerry” Dignan, was held as a benefit for Caring Coalition AZ, a local grassroots organization that provides nutrition to low income families in the Phoenix area, $800 was raised, which will go towards providing care packages of food for families on weekends.
According to Music Together in Phoenix Director Summer Kathy Rowe, “We are so proud that Music Together in Phoenix has been a place where more than 9600 families have come to make music with us over the years. Bringing families together to sing and raise money to help bring the arts to more children just seemed the perfect way to celebrate.”
From Sat Kaur, of Caring Coalition, “The money raised last year’s Uncle Gerry Benefit Concert provided over 160 home-bound food packages for low income families.”
“Playing and doing music in the rich Music Together environment brings out and nurtures children’s inborn capabilities to respond to and make music, even as babies. The program helps develop bonds between parents, siblings, caregivers, and other members of the extended family. Plus, because music-learning supports all learning, Music Together also fosters children’s growth in other key developmental areas, including the cognitive, language, physical, and socio-emotional domains. It is incredible to be a part of this in our community,” Rowe continued.
Music Together is an internationally recognized early childhood music and movement program for children birth through age seven. The Music Together curriculum, coauthored in 1987 by Kenneth K. Guilmartin (Founder/Director) and Rowan University Professor of Music Education Dr. Lili M. Levinowitz (Director of Research), is based on the recognition that all children are musical: all children can learn to sing in tune, keep a beat, and participate with confidence in the music of our culture, provided that their early environment supports such learning. Music Together offers programs for families, schools, and children with special needs, in over 2500 communities in 41 countries around the world.
More than 40 classes each week are held locally in the Phoenix area by Music Together in Phoenix, celebrating its 10th anniversary during the 2016–2017 academic year. Since fall of 1999, more than 9600 families have learned to love music at Music Together in Phoenix. Learn more at www.MusicTogetherInPhx.com.
